While Germany made many enemies during the Second World War, it also partnered with a few countries
to form a military coalition known as the Axis Powers. However, Hitler didn’t do this because
he liked these other countries. He merely meant to use them in his fight against the Allies.
In this video, we’ll delve into Germany’s perspective on other Axis nations and rank
them in terms of how much the Nazis respected them as a people and as military allies.
Before forming the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, German and Japanese relations were rough.
To start off with, German and Japanese relations were strained by the fact they fought against one
another in World War One. Then during the 1920s, the Germans worked on German-Japanese relations,
but they ran into many stumbling blocks along the way. As a result,
the Germans had significant disagreements with the Japanese up until the late 1930s.
The Japanese often did not feel supported by the Germans before World War II, and as Hitler
would claim in his infamous book Mein Kampf, the Germans didn't think much of the Japanese either.
He wrote, "Today we count Japan as a great industrial nation. But all that Japan has,
she has borrowed from the West. If Europe and America suddenly ceased to exist,
the present civilization in Japan might go on for a while. Then the creative spirit would
dry up. The native Japanese spirit would triumph, and Japan would go back to the
dark age from which she was awakened by the first contact with the West."
The main reason the two partnered in World War II was that both Germany and
Japan hated the League of Nations. For Japan, joining forces with Germany meant disbanding
the League and exerting dominance over its Asian neighbors. Hitler did not see Japan’s
ambitions as a threat to his plan to conquer Europe, as Japan’s focus was on the East.
But you might ask why Germany allied with Japan when they wanted a "White Utopian society."
Despite his words in Mein Kampf, Hitler's view on Japan had changed, and evidence shows that
Hitler respected his Asian allies throughout the war, especially Japan's military might and
culture. He even went as far as to call the Japanese "Ehrenarier” (or Honorary
Aryans). But many felt this denomination was for propaganda purposes, especially
since Hitler also called the Hungarians, Finnish, and Chinese people Ehrenarier.
And we might’ve agreed if it wasn’t for what Hitler wrote towards the end of his life: “I have
never regarded the Japanese as being inferior to ourselves. They belong to ancient civilizations,
and I admit freely that their history is superior to our own... I believe the more steadfast the
Japanese remain in their pride of race, the easier I shall find it to get on with them."
Other Nazi leaders were impressed too. Joseph Goebbels, for example,
shared his thoughts on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941:
"Japan has shown once again the enormous power in a people's national dynamics.
One is deeply moved by the accounts of the heroic deeds of Japan's death-defying naval airmen."
Although German and Japanese relations were strained before the war, there was
a clear shift in perspective as the war went on, and the two worked well together.
The same couldn’t be said for Italy. Before Hitler took power in Germany,
many believed he looked up to Benito Mussolini and that the fascist dictator
inspired Hitler as he made his way to the Third Reich. Hitler had even written to
Mussolini about how the ascension to power with the "march on Rome" inspired him.
The Berlin-Rome Axis formation was no surprise because Mussolini had
been aiding the Nazi Party financially since the late 1920s. Mussolini applauded Hitler's
ascension to power and claimed it was a victory for fascist ideology. This
led many to believe that Mussolini and Hitler saw each other as close allies.
But when the two first met in Venice in June 1934, they quickly grew to dislike each other.
The only reason they joined forces was because of,
as Mussolini put it, "a common destiny," not because they got along like a house on fire.
When Hitler offered to aid the Italians in their North African expansion, Mussolini rejected him.
Eventually, Mussolini accepted Hitler's help, but the initial
rejection dampered the relationship and caused a rift between the two Axis powers.
The final straw was drawn when the Italians made a move on Greece.
First, Mussolini led Hitler to believe that they wouldn't make invade Greece. Then behind
Hitler's back, they attacked Greece and they failed miserably. This frustrated
Hitler because he had to bail the Italians out and divide German troops across a larger area.
Hitler wrote, "Our Italian ally had been a source of embarrassment to us everywhere.
It was this alliance, for instance, which prevented us from pursuing a revolutionary
policy in North Africa... the presence of the Italians at our side paralyzed us;
it created a feeling of malaise among our Islamic friends,
who inevitably saw in us accomplices, willing or unwilling, of their oppressors.”
Perhaps the only people Hitler would hate as much as the Italians were
the Hungarians. As was said in Hitler's Table Talk, "From a social point of view,
the sickest communities of the New Europe are: first, Hungary, then Italy."
While Hungary was a prominent German ally during World War two, there is little evidence to suggest
that the Germans thought anything more of Hungary than additional military power and
valuable land for Nazi operations. although Hitler felt their military had potential,
he also felt it was held back because, quote, "the Hungarian is as lazy as the Russian."
According to Nazi racial policy, the Hungarians were not Aryan, and therefore inferior. The
Hungarians understood this, so the relationship between the two countries always felt shaky.
The Hungarians adhered to some of the Nazi policies, but only enough to keep the Nazis
happy. For example, they deported about 20,000 non-Hungarian Jews. Although they first stood
against the policies to deport the Hungarian Jews and instead put harsh anti-Semitic policies in
place. They eventually moved 16,000 Hungarian Jews to Ukraine, where most of them died.
When it became clear the Nazis wouldn't win the war, Hungary attempted to join the Allies.
In response, on the 19th of March 1944, Germany invaded and occupied Hungary,
turning it into a "servant nation." According to Hitler, "The Hungarians
are good auxiliaries for us. With proper stiffening, we find them very useful."
We can safely say that the Nazis didn’t view the Hungarians highly.
The German Perspective of Romania matched that of Hungary in many ways. However,
Hitler felt that the Hungarians were at least better governed. In Hitlers Table Talk,
he said, "From this point of view, the Romanians are in a State of inferiority
in relation to the Hungarians. The Hungarian State has the advantages of a parliament."
Germany's primary incentives for defending Romania
were two parts. Romania had valuable oil reserves and by helping Romania,
the Nazis held greater control over the eastern front. But the two had more in common than meets
the eye. They both shared anti-Semitic views, and the leaders were fascists.
The Romanian King Carol the Second attempted to stay neutral during the war, but by June 1940,
he found himself searching for an ally after the Soviet Union invaded two Romanian provinces.
Although Germany helped Romania deal with the intruding Soviets,
the Germans turned on them a month later, as invading and controlling
Romania would increase Hitler’s strength on the Eastern front.
This lead to the dethroning of King Carol, leaving fascist Prime Minister Ion Antonescu in charge.
Hitler said, "Romania, she has only one man, Antonescu!" and
although Hitler respected Antonescu, he would claim "he's a born soldier,
but his misfortune is to have Romanians under his command."
After Romania joined the Axis on the 23rd of November, Hitler's views on
the country remained the same. But this did not stop the Germans from helping
themselves to Romania's oil reserves, and crops, causing a food shortage in Romania.
Moving on to Finland, some evidence suggests it
was a stalwart ally of Germany. As with the Japanese, Hitler named the Finnish
"Honorary Aryans," and the two nations had excellent relations before the war.
Although Finland tried to remain neutral, Finland seemed like an obvious ally to the Nazis.
Finland and Germany had already been trading partners for a long time, and Hitler was close
with the Finnish military leader, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. In 1942, Hitler
visited Finland for Mannerheim’s 75th birthday. This proved his respect for the Finnish leader.
In almost every way, the Germans and Nazis worked well together except for one major clash in
beliefs: The Finnish held no anti-Semitic views and instead fought for Jewish rights. According
to historian Robert D Rachlin, Mannerheim warned Hitler if the Nazis harmed even one Finnish Jew,
Finland would drive every Nazi out of Finland. When Heinrich Himmler spoke to Mannerheim,
Mannerheim said, "Not even one single Jewish soldier will be taken from my
army to be turned over to Germany. That cannot happen except over my dead body."
When speaking about Finland, Himmler wrote, "The only thing confusing Finland's and
Germany's relationship is the status of Jews. Other nations obeyed Germany and
oppressed their Jews, and destroyed them. The situation in Finland is different."
By 1941, Hitler spoke about his concerns regarding Finland, claiming,
"A partnership is going to be difficult - we should be careful politically. The
Finnish people are sensitive, and we can't patronize them like we patronize the Slovaks."
In the end, it was clear that Hitler and the Nazis had a deep respect for the Finnish.
The Führer ordered Germany not to interfere with Finland's internal matters, a benefit
few other Axis powers had. However, this would be countered when Finland signed the "Moscow
Armistice" a declaration that Finland would break diplomatic ties with Germany and expel
or disarm any German soldiers remaining in Finland after 15 September 1944. This caused the Lapland
War. Yet despite this, there's no evidence to say Hitler changed his views on the Finnish.
While most people saw Bulgarians as Slavs, Hitler regarded them as Aryan,
and they played a significant role in his plans. In Hitler’s Talk Table, it’s reported
that he said "The idea that Bulgarians are slavs is nonsense, Bulgarians are Turkomen."
He even went as far as to call Bulgaria a "loyal ally to the German Reich."
Despite this, the Nazis and the Bulgarians had a problematic relationship from the get-go.
In reality, Bulgaria had no plans to assist Germany in the war and
was somewhat forced into it. Germany had to pass through Bulgaria to get to
the Greek and Yugoslavian territories. To avoid a possible German invasion,
the Bulgarian government signed the Tripartite Pact on the 1st of March 1941.
Hitler also had issues with Tsar Boris the Third,
after Bulgaria refused to hand over its 50,000 Jews.
According to an old Bulgarian newspaper, "80% of Bulgaria's population are peace-loving,
pro-Russian farmers," and, "It frightened them to learn that
Joseph Stalin had notified Bulgaria he would do nothing to resist German penetration."
Additionally, Hitler and Tsar Boris allegedly had a heated argument after Bulgaria refused
to send troops to the Eastern front. Coincidence or not, Tsar Boris died a few days later from a
mysterious illness. Bulgaria's unofficial position is that Hitler poisoned him.
According to Hitler, "The fact is that Bulgaria is strongly affected by
Pan-Slavism, both on the political and on the sentimental level. She's attracted by Russia,
even if Sovietised." Clearly showing how Hitler was concerned about the ally.
Based on what we’ve discussed in this video, we’d say that the Germans were
most impressed by Japans military might, and they respected the Finnish the most.
But this is only our opinion, and we'd love to know if you agree with us. If not,
which Axis nation do you think the Germans respected the most? Did we miss any vital
information that supports or contradicts our opinion? Let us know in the comments.